We are delighted to see the announcement by Tesla confirming the UK pilot scheme to open 15 of its Supercharger Network stations to non-Tesla electric cars. This is great news for the wider adoption of electric vehicles in the UK.
The key elements of their announcement include:
- As of 1pm today (18th May) 15 of the 112 UK Supercharger Sites will open to third party cars to access.
- Non-Tesla EV owners will use the Tesla app to initiate a charge and will pay more per kWh than Tesla owners unless they pay an additional monthly £10.99 fee to gain access to the lower charge prices.
- The Tesla find us map shows the sites (Aviemore, Dundee, Adderstone, Manchester Trafford Centre, Flint, Aberystwyth, Banbury, Wyboston, Trumpington, Thetford, Wokingham, Uxbridge, Grays & Folkestone Eurotunnel)
- Non-Tesla owners blocking bays causing Tesla owners to wait hasn’t happened to date across the test sites in Netherlands, France and Norway (as confirmed by other Tesla owners club we’ve spoken with + Tesla themselves) we hope this continues in the UK trials.
- Tesla has stated that the expansion of the supercharger network is continuing to accelerate in line with the promise of the tripling of the supercharger network within the next ~1.5 years as referenced earlier this year.
The Tesla statement included the following statements:
“Access to an extensive, convenient and reliable fast-charging network is critical for large-scale EV adoption,” reads a Tesla statement. “That’s why, since opening our first Superchargers in 2012, we have been committed to rapid expansion of the network. Today, we have more than 30,000 Superchargers worldwide.”
“More customers using the Supercharger network enables faster expansion. Our goal is to learn and iterate quickly, while continuing to aggressively expand the network, so we can eventually welcome both Tesla and non-Tesla drivers at every Supercharger worldwide.”
Novo Insurance are delighted to hear this news. As providers of specialist electric car insurance, it is essential for our customers to have access to a large and reliable electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
